The Angels Gift

I was inspired yestereve. OK this is a bit emotional, it may be a little dark. However, to be fair, I was thinking of the third degree...

The Angels Gift

An angel was once sent to observe the funeral of a good and righteous man.

The Angel watched the preparations and the mourning of the fallen's family.

The Angel watched as they shed tears of grief at his passing.

The Angel was pleased to see the respect laid out and displayed for a good mans life.

The angel was bursting with joy to see how many remembered this man with love and honor.

As the cortege approached the graveside, the spirit turned as if to leave, and then stopped.

There.

There in the back.

Off to one side was a sickly cloud of darkness.

The angel listened and heard the words spoken, "Such waste, such awful waste."

In less than a moment the Angel took the form of a frail old woman. Approaching the Man over whom the black stench rose, she carefully stood by his side.

"What is this waste you speak of? Surely he spent his life well?", she intoned.

The man glowered over her. Dressed in a silk suit straining at it seams and many trappings of public life adorning the lapels and his fingers.

He looked her over and then seemed to make a choice. "All of this is waste. All of this is folly." he said softly. "This man worked for me for 18 years. I know how much I paid him. I know how much my insurance paid his widow. This is much to much and a waste of what he had."

He pointed to a large mausoleum. "Now thats mine, I had it built three years ago as I know I will die but I want to be remembered. Heck, I'm 83 I could be called home any time. I built that cause I have the means and planned ahead. Charlie here, well I think his folks will be payin' for this for years to come."

He continued, "Charlie, he was a good man. always on time, always hard working, well I didn't even know he was sick till his line fell behind!"

The Angel was angry, in the form of the old woman she asked, "So what did you do, when you realized he was sick? Did you try to help?"

He puffed up and said" I helped all along, He had insurance, I even went once to see him in the hospital. This though; they are wasting the money he left them to make them selves feel better! They got rent to pay. They got bills to pay. They could just plant him and move on and he'd none be the wiser."

The angel was ready to strike with vengeance when the thought came, "this is time to teach".

In a whirl the angel clothed in glory was standing in the man's mausoleum. The man himself was laid out prone. His hands crossed upon his chest, paralyzed.

"Here we are", the angel spoke. "you in the seeming of death alone, all alone. Your worker being mourned by those who loved him."

"I leave you here." the angel spoke, "In one hour's time you may leave. Until then listen to what this man's family says about him, and ask yourself 'is this room your monument to God?', Or are your actions to your fellow man your temple?"

The angel then left the man. He had no choice but to listen to the words of praise for his former employee. The tears shed. The testimonies given. He could not move he could not breath. He received a bittersweet gift from the angel, an actual taste of death.

I do not know what became of the man when he stepped out of the glorious grave he had built him self an hour later. However, I hope he emerged a changed man.

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